To commemorate the World Mental Health Day 2022, and to reaffirm its commitment to strengthen well-being services on higher education institution (HEI) campuses the USAID’s Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA) organized a webinar on Mental Health and Well-being in Higher Education. It was the first in a series of webinars that HESSA is putting together on issues of interest to HEIs and policy makers.
The webinar was attended by 55 participants including faculty members, students, and staff from various HEIs. Dr. Ayesha Razzaque, Deputy Chief of Party, HESSA moderated the session. The panel of speakers included Dr. Noreen Akhter, Senior Psychologist at National University of Sciences & Technology, Ms. Samina Uzair, Student Counselor at Lahore College for Women’s University, Ms. Natalie Humphrey, Head of Student Enterprise and Wellbeing at University of Birmingham (Dubai Campus), Dr. Daniel Inouye, Board-certified Adult Psychologist and Consultant with The University of Utah, and Ahmad Ali, Clinical Psychologist and Wellness Counselor at Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
The webinar provided an opportunity to discuss contemporary mental health issues; share what various campuses, locally and globally, are doing in terms of helping students and faculty cope with challenges; and emphasize that well-being should be a necessary part of the overall campus culture. This means that the entire campus – leaders, staff, faculty – should be geared towards ensuring well-being of all on campus, especially the students.